Ready For Another Saturday of MAC Madness?!

• First-year Head Coach Rob Murphy’s Eagles enter the game with a 6-10 overall record and a 1-1 MAC mark after suffering a hard-fought 60-56 home loss to Central Michigan Wednesday, Jan. 11... The Eagles had four players in double figures in Wednesday’s, Jan. 14, 60-56 loss to CMU.  Junior forward Jamell Harris led the way wiuth 12 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots...Ball State is one of the West Division co-leaders with a 2-0 league mark and a 10-4 overall record.  Ball State opened its league schedule with a 78-69 home win over Western Michigan, Jan. 7, and followed that up with a 70-68 road win at Toledo, Jan. 10.

• The Rockets are still looking to post its first conference victory after falling to Ball State, 70-68, on Tuesday. Toledo tops the MAC with a 46.4 field-goal percentage and is second in scoring offense (75.4 ppg), FT% (72.8) and three-point FG% (36.4). Sophomore G Rian Pearson is one of four Rockets scoring in double figures. He is fourth in the MAC with 16.5 ppg and ninth with a 50.5 FG%...The Broncos are 90-25 in University Arena in Head Coach Steve Hawkins’ nine-year tenure. WMU ranks last in the MAC in scoring defense (74.8) after facing a schedule to date that ranks as the 10th-most difficult in the country.Bronco sophomore C Matt Stainbrook ranks in the MAC’s Top 10 with 13.6 ppg (9th), 6.7 rpg (7th), 1.2 bpg (6th) and 59.2 FG% (2nd).

• The Zips return to Rhodes Arena after opening Mid-American Conference play with two road games for just the third time in program history. Akron has won eight of the last ten against Ohio at Rhodes Arena. Over the last eight games, UA has posted a 7-1 record.  The Zips have outscored their opponents by 14.9 ppg (76.0-61.1), are averaging 15.6 assists/game and hold a +3.9 rebounding advantage...Ohio is coming off a 60-52 home win over Buffalo on Jan. 11.  The Bobcats are 1-1 in MAC play and are 5-2 overall on the road. Three Ohio players are scoring in double figures, including D.J. Cooper (14.1 ppg), Ivo Baltic (11.2 ppg) and Walter Offutt (11.0 ppg).  Baltic and Reggie Keely lead the squad in rebound at 5.3 rpg each.

• Northern Illinois returns home to host Central Michigan after playing its first Mid-American Conference road game this past Wednesday. Early in conference play, Tim Toler is finding his range from beyond the three-point arc, shooting 66.7 percent from three-point range, including a career-best five triples at Western Michigan (Jan. 11), tied for third-best in the MAC...The Chippewas bring a 7-8 overall record to DeKalb, 2-0 in MAC play, having defeated Toledo and Eastern Michigan in their first two conference games. Trey Zeigler leads Central Michigan in scoring and rebounding at 16.3 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Central Michigan is the third-best three-point shooting team in the MAC, shooting 35.7 percent from behind the arc.

• Buffalo is 8-5 overall and 1-1 in the conference and is coming off a 60-52 loss a Ohio on Wednesday night. The Bulls averaged 78.8 points per game in non-conference play, but are averaging only 59 points through two MAC tilts. The Bulls rank third in the nation in rebounding (43.2 rpg)...Miami is 4-10 overall and 0-2 in the MAC  and is coming off a 71-67 loss at Kent State on Wednesday.  The RedHawks are led by Julian Mavunga who leads the MAC in scoring and rebounding, averaging 19.3 points and 10.4 rebounds per game. 

•  The Golden Flashes have won three of their last four following a 71-67 come-from-behind win over Miami on Wednesday night. Justin Greene became the first player in Kent State history to record 1,000 points, 100 blocks and 100 steals in a career in the game at Buffalo  Greene is the only active player in the MAC to accomplish the feat...Bowling Green has started MAC play out by splitting a pair of home games thus far.  The Falcons earned a win over Ohio then fell 56-55 in the final seconds to Akron on Wednesday.  A’uston Calhoun leads three players in double figures with 12.6 points per game.